Doak Walker Semifinalists Announced; No David Cobb

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http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/index.ssf/2014/11/auburns_cameron_artis-payne_na.html

Here's the list:

Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska
Jay Ajayi, Boise State
Javorius Allen, USC
Cameron Artis-Payne, Auburn
Matt Breida, Georgia Southern
Tevin Coleman, Indiana
James Conner, Pittsburgh
Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin
Devon Johnson, Marshall
Duke Johnson, Miami

Frankly, while I didn't think he would win the award, I figured he'd be a semifinalist. Oh well. Show 'em on Saturday what they screwed up, DC.
 



I think that the lack of TD's is a factor with this. Just my opinion though.

He would definitely be a semi-finalist if I were putting the list together.
 

i do wonder if Cobb faces more schemes to stop the run than other backs.
cobb1.jpg
 


I think that the lack of TD's is a factor with this. Just my opinion though.

He would definitely be a semi-finalist if I were putting the list together.

Lack of TD's and lack of those game breaking sportcenter top plays type of runs. He has been great but he isn't flashy enough to get noticed for a lot of this stuff. I am sure he just missed the cut for the Walker, and while it would have been nice to see his name on the list a case can be made for all the other guys on there as well and in the end he would have had zero chance of winning the award as he isn't even the top back in the BIG.

Cobb has carried our offense but I am not surprised that he isn't getting a ton of love on the National stage.
 


If someone put together a stat comparison for Cobb vs these guys I would be forever in debt.

Green means the player is better than Cobb, Red means the player is worse than Cobb.

Yards:
David Cobb 1350
-----------
Ameer Abdullah 1319
Jay Ajayi 1280
Javorius Allen 1184
Cameron Artis-Payne 1276
Matt Breida 1434
Tevin Coleman 1678
James Conner 1562
Melvin Gordon 1909
Devon Johnson 1402
Duke Johnson 1343

Yards Per Game
David Cobb 135.0
-----------
Ameer Abdullah 131.9
Jay Ajayi 128.0
Javorius Allen 118.4
Cameron Artis-Payne 127.6
Matt Breida 130.4
Tevin Coleman 167.8
James Conner 156.2
Melvin Gordon 190.9
Devon Johnson 155.8
Duke Johnson 134.3

YPC
David Cobb 5.3
-----------
Ameer Abdullah 6.5
Jay Ajayi 4.9
Javorius Allen 5.5
Cameron Artis-Payne 5.6
Matt Breida 9.4
Tevin Coleman 7.8
James Conner 6.2
Melvin Gordon 8.6
Devon Johnson 8.5
Duke Johnson 7.3

Touchdowns
David Cobb 11
-----------
Ameer Abdullah 17
Jay Ajayi 17
Javorius Allen 8
Cameron Artis-Payne 10
Matt Breida 16
Tevin Coleman 12
James Conner 21
Melvin Gordon 23
Devon Johnson 16
Duke Johnson 10
 

http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/index.ssf/2014/11/auburns_cameron_artis-payne_na.html

Here's the list:

Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska
Jay Ajayi, Boise State
Javorius Allen, USC
Cameron Artis-Payne, Auburn
Matt Breida, Georgia Southern
Tevin Coleman, Indiana
James Conner, Pittsburgh
Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin
Devon Johnson, Marshall
Duke Johnson, Miami

Frankly, while I didn't think he would win the award, I figured he'd be a semifinalist. Oh well. Show 'em on Saturday what they screwed up, DC.

The one name on this list that makes no sense is the kid from USC. His stats and TD's don't stack up with any of the rest. I wonder if he made the list because he is the best of the PAC 12? Looks like they tried to represent all the major conferences which is also another big part of the reason Cobb didn't make the list most likely. In the end it was probably down to him or Abdulah and even though their numbers are similar Abdulah has gotten much more publicity then Cobb and at one point was viewed as a Heisman candidate.
 



The only reason he didn't make is because the Big Ten is stacked with running backs. It's a bummer, but it doesn't make him any less of a running back. He's top 10 in the country as far as running backs go in my opinion.
 

Lack of TD's and lack of those game breaking sportcenter top plays type of runs. He has been great but he isn't flashy enough to get noticed for a lot of this stuff. I am sure he just missed the cut for the Walker, and while it would have been nice to see his name on the list a case can be made for all the other guys on there as well and in the end he would have had zero chance of winning the award as he isn't even the top back in the BIG.

Cobb has carried our offense but I am not surprised that he isn't getting a ton of love on the National stage.

Maybe if we beat OSU last weekend and he had the 3 or 4 TD preformance in the win, that could've changed things. Like furry said, he is a Top 10 RB in my opinion also. Oh well, I guess.
 

Looks like YPC was a big deal for the deciding folks on this, gotta have that explosiveness that Cobb doesn't have/get to showcase.
 

It is what it is. I do think he might be the most important to his team.
 



Cobb is definitely one of the top 10 backs in the country. I would bet that he faces more defenses who key in on him than do most of the other backs. With as one dimensional as our offense is, other teams know if they can stop Cobb, they can stop our team. As stated he doesn't have the breakaway speed of say Melvin Gordon and doesn't have as many flashy highlight plays as a result. He also has more games where he didn't reach 100 yards compared to some of the other backs on the list.
 

Love Cobb's response to being left off the list:

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Go Gophers!!
 

ESPN: David Cobb snubbed by Doak Walker?

Three league players did make the cut: Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon, Indiana's Tevin Coleman and Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah.

All three are no-brainers, as Gordon leads the nation in rushing, Coleman is No. 2 and Abdullah was having an incredible season before a knee injury slowed him down his past two games. But where's Minnesota's David Cobb?

Cobb has rushed for 1,350 yards, good for seventh-best in the FBS. He's had two 200-yard games this season, a 194-yard effort vs. Purdue, a 183-yard showing vs. Michigan and last week's 145-yard, three-touchdown day against Ohio State. He's done all this while basically carrying a Gophers' offense that doesn't pass the ball much. According to Minnesota, Cobb is responsible for 31.6 percent of his team's all-purpose yards and 37.6 percent of its total offense.

Cobb only has 11 touchdowns, which may be one thing that held him back in the voting. But he actually has more rushing yards in as many games as Abdullah (again, take into account Abdullah's injury) and is a total workhorse back with a Big Ten-leading 254 carries on the season.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/111293/cobb-snubbed-by-doak-walker-award

Go Gophers!!
 

Looks like YPC was a big deal for the deciding folks on this, gotta have that explosiveness that Cobb doesn't have/get to showcase.

Probably a big part of it which is why Ajayi from Boise St. makes no sense. He averages less per carry against much weaker opponents.
 




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